Fountain-pen



(No Model.)

0. E. BROWNING.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

Patented Mar. 13, 1894.

TH! run-noun. umoeuwmu COMPANY.

WASHINGTON. n a

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EATON BROWNING, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.-

FOUNTAlN -PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,345, dated March13, 1894. Application filed September I5, 1892, $erial No. 446,002. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, CHARLES EATON BROWN- ING, of Toledo, Lucas county,Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFountain-Pens; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the artto which it pertains to make and use it,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in fountain pens.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved feed device forfountain pens exceedingly cheap, simple and durable in construction andcomposed of a minimum number of parts, and above all sure and reliablein action so that a plentiful supply of ink, but not sufficient topermit flooding or dropping, is constantly furnished the pen and so thatthe pen can be employed for very rapid writing without in any wayexhausting the flow of ink while the barrel contains ink. The particularObject being to provide a fountain pen that will instantly write withoutcoaxing or shaking and;that will not flood or drop ink even when theinkisnearly'exhausted.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and incombinations of parts more fully described hereinafter and particularlypointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, is aside elevation ofthe improved fountain pen complete. Fig. 2, is a central longitudinalsection of thepen-nozzle, feedshaft, and a portion of the ink barrel.Fig.3, is a detail side elevation of the feed-shaft. Fig. 4, is a crosssection on the line ww Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line y-yFig. 2. Fig. 6, is a section on the line z,-z, Fig. 2. Figs. 7 and 8 aredetail elevations of the pen nozzle respectively showing differentconstructions thereof.

In the drawings the reference letter A, indicates the ink barrel orreservoir closed permanently at one end and open and internally threadedat the other end to receive-the pen.

nozzle b. The pen nozzle is formed to screw into said open end and isexternally formed so as to be readily grasped and held between the 'tosuch grooves t' orj.

fingers, and is longitudinally hollow throughout its length to receivethe feed shaft 0, and

the pen d. This feed shaft is held in the pen nozzle by frictionalengagement with the sides of the interior thereof. This shaft is alsolongitudinally split at its outer end and suitably reduced to form theupper feed tongue or finger e, arranged to rest on the upper face of thepen and extend almost to the point thereof and the lower finger ortongue f,preferably, not quite so long as the upper,- tongue andengaging the under side of the pen d. The feed shaft is split back asuitable distance to properly receive the pen which is held firmly inplace by engagement with the walls of the pen nozzle and by beingclampedbetween the tongues of the feed. The feed shaft is provided with'thelongitudinal air passage h, extending from the inner end thereof throughthe outer end thereof and the upper tongue is preferably grooved, at t,longitudinally of its under side in continuation of said air passage.tongue can also be grooved correspondingly, at j. However I do not wishto limit myself The portion 70, of the feed shaft, at the bases of thefeed tongues, is formed of a size to plug or fill the outer end of thepen nozzle, and within the pen nozzle just in rear of this portion 70,the feed shaft is provided with a; reservoir or ink pocket Z, located atthe heelof the pen and formed by cutting or otherwise forming atransverse chamber through the shaft open on two sides, and from thisink pocket the two opposite sides m, m, of the shaft are flattened asshown from the open sides of the pocket to the rear end of the shaft.The shaft is split from its front end to said pocket so that the heel orrear end of the pen rests in the split and extends through the plugportion into the pocket as clearly illustrated.

The operation is as follows: Air flows up through the grooves i, or j,or around the pen between the same and the feed tongues through saidpocket into the longitudinal air passage into the main reservoir 0rinkbarrel If desirable the under' forcing the ink down the ink passagesbetween the flattened sides of the shaft and the pen nozzle to the inkpocket thereby always keeping a plentiful supply of ink at the heel IOOof the pen from which the ink flows through the split in the plugportion along the feed tongues to the pen nibs. The amount of ink feddown is regulated by the quantity of air admitted,and this is regulatedby the nibs of the pen. If the pen is writing very lightly the nibsseparate but slightly and hence a small quantity of air can pass betweenthe nibs into the groove 1', or j. to the air passage, but if the pen iswriting heavily the nibs are spread a greater distance and of course agreater flow of air is permitted and thus a greater downflow of ink isthe result.

The ink pocket is a point of great advantage for by its use a plentifulsupply of ink is always on hand for the pen, yet the parts are soconstructed and arranged that the feed will not drop ink or flood whenthe barrel is nearly empty or at other times as the regulation of theair supply and the plug portion prevent too rapid flow of the ink to thepen.

The inner end of the feed shaft extends to the interior of the inkbarrel, and the inner end of the pen nozzle is suitably extendedinwardly beyond the screw threaded portion thereof to form a protectorand support for the inner end of the feed shaft. This extension at, ofthe pen nozzle can be formed of separate sections or extensionsseparated by slits as shown in Fig. 7, or the pen nozzle can be extendedas a cylinder as shown in Fig. 8. This extension is intended to protectthe feed from the ink and completely inclose the feed in the pen nozzle.

It is evident that various changes and modifications might be made inthe forms, constructions and arrangements of the parts described withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not wishto limit myself to the constructions as here described and shownexactly, but consider myself entitled to all such variations as fallwithin the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a fountain pen, the feed-shaft having the plug in the outer end ofthe nozzle, the ink pocket in the rear of said plug, the sides of theshaft in the rear of said plug being flattened, the feed tongues at theouter end of the shaft, and the longitudinal passage through the shaftfrom the inner end to said plug and through said plug to the tongues.

2. In a fountain pen, a feed bar formed entirely in one piece with itsouter end bifurcated forming the upper and lower feed tongues, thecentral longitudinal air duct continued along the inner faces of saidtongues by grooves, as described, the plug at the bases of said tongues,the transverse ink pocket just in rear of said plug, the bifurcationextending through the plug to said pocket, and the flattened sidesforming ink ways, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a fountain pen, a feed bar having the plug at its outer portion tofit the outer end of the pen nozzle, and'the central transverse openingthrough the bar forming a pocket for the collection of ink at the innerend of said plug, said plug being split through to said pocket toreceive the pen, as set forth, said bar being formed to permit inflow ofair and to place the ink pocket in direct communication with the ink inthe holder. 7

4. In a fountain pen, the feed bar having the plug near its outer end toclose the nozzle, the central transverse opening forming the ink pocketimmediately in rear of said plug, said plug split through to said pocketto receive the heel of the pen and permit ink to flow from the pocketthrough the split on to the upper and lower surfaces of the pen and topermit air to flow into said pocket, and independent air and inkpassages from said pocket to the interior of the ink barrel,substantially as shown and described.

5. A fountain pen having the feed bar in one piece with the plug at itsouter portion, the central transverse opening forming the ink pocketimmediately in rear of said plug, the plug being split to permit outflowof ink from the pocket and inflow of air to the same, ink ductsextending from the ends of said pocket longitudinally of the bar to theinner end thereof, and an air duct from the inner end of the bar to thecenter of said pocket, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES EATON BROWNING.

Witnesses:

PERCY H. BUMP, HERBERT A. CHIT'IENDEN.

